Dr. Van Anh Bui-Tran is passionate about supporting humanizing and sustaining pedagogies, curriculum and instruction. She graduated with honors from Stanford University with a Bachelor of Arts in Public History and a Master of Arts in Education. Prior to receiving her PhD in Social Studies Education at Teachers College, Columbia University, she was a high school history teacher in East San Jose. Her research interests include refugee narratives, collective memory, community organizing and action, healing justice, and notions of belonging.

I joined AASPIRES as a Founding Board Member because I believe that we, as members of the Southeast Asian diaspora, have powerful histories that contribute to a more nuanced understanding of our current world. Often, folks in our communities are unfamiliar with the hidden curriculum of institutions steeped in whiteness and, therefore, do not have access to the tools needed to build our/their capacity. I feel fortunate to have found a strong student organizing community in undergrad that gave me opportunities to learn to situate my family's history within broader historical, social, political contexts. I believe that AASPIRES is one way to build the capacity of our communities so that Southeast Asian young people can better understand their identities and their power.